Taxes...

[ShadowHawk]

What all gets taxed in your games? And also, how much do you tax each thing in your games?

[SlaytheDragon]

I generally stick with taxes related to an NPC's profession. Farmers must pay some of their food to the ruling noble or work for the ruling lord. Merchants must buy licenses and pay a portion to the lord for protection of their goods while traveling and whatnot. Most of the money doesn't come from straight taxing of people's income, but rather through levies, licenses, or through straight up working for the lord or ruling noble. Noble families would have to fight for the ruling lord during times of war or battle and must make payment to the ruler for protection and for the "continuation of the kingdom".

That's how I've always done "taxes" anyhow. It's a good place to begin an adventure for player characters who have to work to pay the local noble what their family 'owes'.

[pblackcrow]

Is this for a political game or is it just in general?

[ShadowHawk]

Is this for a political game or is it just in general?

to be honest, it's for both. even though we both use the The Great Net Equipment List, taxes applies to everyone. plus keeps dictators in power. hahaha. I know that you always taxed differently depending on various things.

I finaly figured out another button on here. I'm still new to this forum/message board.

[Goliath Strongarm]

I use a rough outline for taxes. In a game where players end up with a lot of money, I generally tax a little harsher, versus games where I make them scrape for copper, I tax a lot more leniently.

My rough outline:
Entering a new nobles territory: 0.5% of estimated wealth and goods

Entering a new Empire: 0.25% of estimated wealth and goods

Trade merchants can purchase a pass, and the cost is 5% of all business done inside the territory, and is valid for one year, so they aren't paying extra every time they cross a border area.
Caveat with this: if they go somewhere like the WE, they may get a pass for the empire taxes- however, whatever noble owns the local turf they sell on may have their own.

Craftsmen owe X many days per month (usually 2-3), performing their service for the noble. IE, a fletcher will spend a couple of days, doing nothing but making arrows on the Lord's behalf.

Local Dungeons: Well, don't you realize this was the lord's property, so everything found inside is his?! We'll let you keep a finders fee, of course.


So on, and so forth. Depending on the area and campaign wealth, I also sometimes add sales tax (usually 5-10%). And if the characters show their wealth too much, they also pay a "stupid tax" with prices being doubled (or more)

[ShadowHawk]

I like the idea of the craftsmen paying in service.

I had an interesting thought while reading, though...could counterfeiting be considered a treasonous act in a medieval times?

[kiralon]

The penalty for counterfeiting coins was the same as for petty treason

[Tor]

We could probably look back at our past for how it might be reasonable to do it. Although keeping in mind that magic and psi might make possible keeping account of things that were not possible to keep reliable account of.

Like, did they have stuff like sales taxes or income taxes in the past? Or did you simply pay a tax based on how much land you own, or tariffs for transporting goods through certain places?

[glitterboy2098]

historically the main taxes in a medieval kingdom was land taxes. the ruler would do a census every so many years, figure out how much the land and properties of each of his lords and such, then levy a tax based on a percentage of that total. note that while land itself defined the boundries and had value in terms of an amount per [archaic unit of surface area], any strongholds, villages, farms, mills, the population of serfs, peasants, livestock, etc. contributed to the final tax. (all which while not directly taxed, their presence helped define how productive the land was and thus adjusted the value of it.)

taxes to the ruler generally were in currency or similar goods. gold and silver mainly, gold being preferred because it was a bit more rare and thus more valued.

lords did a similar process within their holdings. however they tended to take their taxes 'in kind'.. these living on their land had to give a certain amount of anything they grey or made to their lord. the lord usually then sold those goods to merchants or to other lords, in order to get the currency that they need to pay the royal taxes.

in addition to these land taxes you had various misc taxes. there was a fee/tax on the coining of currency in most places, meant to prevent over saturation (and an excuse to have a royal organization to ensure the quality of currency.. make sure all the coins match the weights and purity decreed, are coined with the right designs, etc)
you also had Customs duties on trade.. similar to tariffs. internal trade had some taxes on it, trade with locations outside a kingdom had higher ones. often you'd have both royal and local duties that had to be payed as well.

in the late medieval period, when merchants started to become quite wealthier and landed nobility no longer formed the bulk of the upper class, you started to see taxes on specific goods, both in terms of trade and production. you also started to see royalty create new 'temporary' taxes on various things in order to help fund their campaigns.

[ShadowHawk]

The penalty for counterfeiting coins was the same as for petty treason

okay...not exactly what I asked, but thanks. see I have a suspicion the operator of one of my mines is counterfeiting. mind you, I have noticed a lot of newly minted silver 1 oz and 1/2 oz coins with my face on them that aren't exactly made of silver more of a coating in it and also a different weight, in this tax period. all from the same general city and surounding area. something just tells me he's behind it.

[sHaka]

Counterfeiting or defacement of coinage (considered a Royal Offience) was certainly harshly treatly until relatively recently in the UK - in the late 17th century, you could still be burned at the stake for clipping coin. See here.